Riding Trough The Forest
by ribban96
Summary: A short story, some Constructive criticism on how i could improve my writing would be greatly appreciated.


A test story

The forest was deadly silent, not a single branch moved and the wind blew noiselessly trough the trees, the silence was only made worse by the darkness as the thick branches overhead blocked out almost all sunlight from overhead, the silence of the forest was only broken by the repetitive sound of hooves on dry earth,  
5 knights had been selected to ride to a remote village on the outskirts of Britain and speak with the villagers regarding any criminal activity or mysterious events, all of them were knights of the round table and experienced warriors, There was Gawain the Brave riding at the fore not fearing bandits nor sorcery his sword and pommel clanging at his side, followed by Percival The great riding his trusty steed and despite the large horse underneath him it still looked like he rode a pony his large size dwarfing any man for he was not called Percival the Great for his deeds but his size, at his back he had strapped his weapon of choice a iron war-hammer used to crush skulls and shatter bones, behind these two men rode Leon The loyal a good true knight,

Leon was by far the oldest and Wisest of them all for he had served the round table for over 20 years, and the years were not hidden for his beard was peppered with gray and his hair had strands of gray in them,  
Next to him rode the noblest of all the knights Lancelot, Renowned and lauded for his noble deeds all across Albion, despite that he rode at the back humble as always. the clip clop of hooves was in no way hasty and the horses lumbered forward slowly having no inclination to reaching the village in a hurry, they could not sense their riders worry nor wish to leave this forest,  
The forest was filled with trees leaning over the road branches and leaves covering out all but the tiniest shiver of sunlight and the leaning and twisted nature of the trees gave no comfort to the five riders.  
No animals could be heard and the forest was unnaturally silent and there were no birds chirping nor was there deer jumping trough the forest and from the front of the party you could hear murmurs Percival whispering to gwaine that magic and sorcery was to blame. before Gawain could reply there was a snap of a branch and a creaking of ropes a tree fell down in front of them forcing them to a halt and men jumped out onto the road with drawn swords and greedy grins

Ambush! Leon shouted and drew his sword the metal screeching as he freed it from the scabbard, kicking his horses side he rode forth sword held high preparing to cut the bandits in two, Leon barely had the chance to hear the hiss of an arrow before it hit his shoulder and lodging itself in his shoulder piercing his chain mail, several more hisses signaled the arrows that hit his horse causing it to collapse bringing Leon with it.  
The remaining knights dismounted and charged forth determined to kill the 5 bandits on the road before the men in the forest could reload their crossbows, Gawain charged first sword already drawn and its fierce edge already raised high, reaching the bandits first he swung his sword downwards meeting the sword of the leader, a tall man with a nasty face and a rusty blood red sword, before the leader could counter, Gawain struck again pushing him off balance and with a third swing he cut deep into the shoulder of the unbalanced bandit, The man collapsed screaming and bleeding his sword forgotten on the forest floor,  
The remaining four men were shocked and weary not expecting the ferocity of the knight, before they could react Percival arrived his Iron war hammer raised, one of the bandits were unprepared and caught Percival blow in the chest, the force of the blow lifted the man and flung him backward, the sound of ribs shattering filling the forest, Gawain pulled back and stood close to Lancelot,  
Lancelot had his shield raised and was shielding himself form the arrows raining down from the forest, the engraved dragon on the red shield had already been scratched off by an arrow and there was a broken arrow lodged in the top of the shield, the three remaining bandits charged towards the knights confident of their victory, with one knight occupied with keeping arrows away they believed they could defeat the two remaining knights, Gawain engaged the man who reached them first and Percival began swinging towards the second man,  
The previously quiet forest was now filled with the clang of swords meeting and the thrum of bows and the hiss of arrows flying, the second bandit rushed towards Gawain his shield in one hand and sword in another believing himself a match he struck first swinging hastily towards Percival, Percival simply ducked under the ill advised cut and swung his war-hammer, the bandit lifted his shield in preparation for the swing yet when the war-hammer struck the shield it struck with such force that the shield shattered and the mans arm broke,  
He dropped his sword as he fell to the ground clutching his injured arm, Percival war-hammer came down and crushed his head before he could plead for mercy, Lancelot had already dealt with the lightly armored archers by the time Gawain cut down the remaining bandits.


End file.
